Sir Robert Francis Cooper (born 28 August 1947) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

adviser An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs catego ...

who served as a Special Adviser at the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

for

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

between 2013 and 2014. He was also a member of the

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

and writes on international relations.

Career

He was born on 28 August 1947, in Brentwood, Essex, the son of Norman and Frances Cooper, and educated at the Delamere School for Boys,

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and

Worcester College Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He won a

Thouron Award The Thouron Award is a postgraduate scholarship established in 1960 by Sir John R. H. Thouron, K.B.E., and Esther du Pont Thouron. It is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious and competitive academic awards globally, alongside the Ox ...

, and spent the academic year 1969–70 at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, joining the Diplomatic Service of the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

in 1970. As a diplomat, he has worked at various British embassies abroad, notably those in Tokyo and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. At the Foreign Office, he was Head of the Policy Planning Staff from 1989 to 1993. He has also been seconded to the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

and spent a period in the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

as Deputy Secretary for Defence and Overseas Affairs. He was the UK's Special Representative in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

until mid-2002. In 2002, he began to work for the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU). He assumed the role of Director-General for External and Politico-Military Affairs at the General Secretariat of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

. In that role, he was responsible to

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga CYC (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary Gener ...

, the former

High Representative The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European U ...

of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, and has assisted with the implementation of European strategic, security and defence policy. Since 2007 he has also been a member of the

. After the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states o ...

's shake-up of EU foreign policy structures, and Solana's replacement by

Catherine Ashton Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland (born 20 March 1956) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of th ...

, Cooper sat on the steering committee which drew up the proposals for the new

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...

(EEAS). After the EEAS, the EU's foreign service, was formally established in December 2010 Cooper was made an EEAS "Counsellor".Catherine Ashton appoints Robert Cooper as Counsellor in the EEAS
(PDF), EEAS 2 December 2010 Subsequently he was released from the EEAS, but appointed as a Special Adviser to the Vice-President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton, primarily with regard to Myanmar, from April 2013 to March 2014.
Commission 1 April 2013

Personal life

His longtime partner is Dame

Mitsuko Uchida is a Japanese-English classical pianist and conductor. Born in Japan and naturalised in England, she is particularly notable for her interpretations of Mozart and Schubert. She has appeared with many notable orchestras, recorded a wide repert ...

, the

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz, blues, and popular music, including rock and roll. Most pianists can, to ...

Controversy

In March 2011, Cooper apparently came under fire for his support of Bahraini government crackdowns against protesters, waving off suggestions of police violence and saying "accidents happen." His comments came a week after a video surfaced showing a Bahraini police

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

performing

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrators to quickly strike their targets and flee the scene before l ...

s against unarmed protesters.

Honours and distinctions

Following the state visit to Japan by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, he was appointed

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

. He was subsequently appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG). In 2004, Cooper was awarded the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...

for ''The Breaking of Nations''. In November 2005, he was listed among the top 100 in ''

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

'' magazine's Global Intellectuals Poll. On 14 November 2012, he was listed by EurActiv, the European media network, as the 28th out of 40 "most influential Britons on EU policy". Cooper was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to international peace and security.Cabinet Office
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Doctrine

Cooper is best known for his exposition of the doctrine of "new liberal imperialism", as expressed in his ''The Post-Modern State'' (2002). This contains such ideas as the designation of countries as "

Failed state A failed state is a state that has lost its ability to fulfill fundamental security and development functions, lacking effective control over its territory and borders. Common characteristics of a failed state include a government incapable of ...

s", "Modern states" and "Postmodern states", and statements such as "The challenge to the postmodern world is to get used to the idea of

double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

s". His world-view is said to have been influential in the political thinking of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

as well as the development of

European Security and Defence Policy The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The CSDP involves the de ...

Publications

His publications, apart from a number of articles in ''Prospect'' and elsewhere, include: *''The Post-Modern State and the World Order'' (Demos, 2000), . *''The Post-Modern State'', in Mark Leonard (ed.) Re-Ordering the World: The long-term implications of 11 September (Foreign Policy Centre: London, 2002
Observer Special ReportFull text (pdf)
*''The Breaking of Nations: Order and Chaos in the Twenty-First Century'' (Atlantic Press, 2003), . *''The Ambassadors: Thinking about Diplomacy from Machiavelli to Modern Times'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2021), .

References

External links

2005 interview with Cafe Babel
The new liberal imperialism
Robert Cooper in the Guardian
Imperial Liberalism
by Robert Cooper
Robert Cooper on the assets and shortfalls of EU crisis response capacity and the need for a unified political strategy
* Bahrain's Interior Minister Meets Robert Cooper, 20 March 2011.
euobserver
Robert Cooper defends Bahrain Crackdown
Guardian
Robert Cooper in the Guardian "Accidents happen" {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Robert 1947 births Members of HM Diplomatic Service Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Royal Victorian Order Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Living people People from Brentwood, Essex 20th-century British diplomats